Review: The St. Regis Downtown Dubai
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After a one-night stay at The St. John’s… Regis Abu Dhabiand a little less than 2 hours drive, here we are in Dubai, at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai.
Reservationervation at Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai
In Dubai, there are about 20 hotels belonging to the Marriott Group. Concretely, you will have 3 choices of location:
- close to the Marina
- close to historic Dubai
- near the Burj Khalifa
After much research (and advice obtained in the facebook group “Travel for free (or almost…!) with your points and miles – milesopedia” ), 3 choices :
- Either the Grosvenor House, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Dubai at the Marina
- Either the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai on the Burj Khalifa side
- Or the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai
We chose to stay close to the Burj Khalifa in order to be in the heart of the action and at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai because this one is “smaller” than the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai and is brand new!
This hotel is classified in category 5 of the Marriott Bonvoy program. It therefore costs 35,000 points per night to stay there. This is very interesting compared to the public price (excluding taxes) at the time of our stay: $330 / night (+ taxes)!
For this stay, I used a certificate for one free night (with a maximum value of 35,000 points) from one of our card s Marriott Bonvoy which had just been renewed, as well as 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
- Annual fee
- $120
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$600Total$600$100 deferred bonus, excluded from the first-year estimate and not counted in this total.Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
- $600
- Welcome offerAfter $3,000 in 3 months
- Up to 70,000 points
Apply Now
on American Express's website
Apply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).
Location of the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai
This hotel is located in the business district of Dubai near the Burj Khalifa.
Check-in at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai
The Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai has free valet parking. So we arrive directly in front of the lobby of the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai where we leave our rental car. Immediately, our luggage is taken care of and taken up to our room.
Thanks to the Platinum Elite status of the Marriott Bonvoy program, I have 5 annual credits for upgrades in a row. Wanting our stay to be “perfect”, before our arrival I use 2 credits to cover our two nights on site. 48 hours prior to arrival, our upgrade to the suite was confirmed.
We appreciate the modern design of the lobby:
And outdoor spaces:
Please note that a free shuttle service is offered by the hotel to reach (and return) the main attractions of the city at fixed times. We’ll use it to get to the Burj Khalifa.
Now let’s go to our suite!
Our suite at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai
The lounge
Our suite at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai is an Executive Suite and is located on the 14th floor. It is 1407: it is the corner of the hotel and is very generous in size as you can see on this floor plan.
As we enter, a pink flamingo is waiting for us: this is the theme of our sequel!
A magnificent sofa occupies the lounge adjoining our bedroom. Here is the lounge seen in the evening when we arrived :
And during the day:
In this lounge, there is a space with a mini-bar and an Illy espresso coffee machine.
We will slip into the mini-bar one of the bottles of Laurent Perrier champagne bought in Paris at the Duty Free before leaving.
That changes for us who are rather used to placing in this space Milk + bottles!
Also present: a chocolate bar as a welcome gift for Marriott Bonvoy Elite Members.
The concierge was very careful with the little note left at the time of booking: an excellent “birthday” cake will be brought to us just after we enter the suite!
There’s a bathroom in the lobby.
The room
Let’s go around the room. When arriving at night, one appreciates the light coming from under the bed!
Here is an overview of the room during the day and the view with the curtains open :
The bathroom
The bathroom is impressively large!
With notably a very large shower and a beautiful bathtub “with view”.
We’ll quickly find a use for the bottle of champagne we’ve brought! 😉
Services of Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai
Breakfast at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai
Thanks to Platinum status, complimentary breakfasts are available either in the lounge or in the hotel restaurant. Since we are staying 2 nights, we will test both formulas!
The restaurant BHAR offers a hot and cold buffet breakfast.
Here is a photo gallery with all the dishes on offer:
The advantage of having breakfast in a restaurant? Take advantage of the access to the outdoor terrace to eat in the sun!
The lounge at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai
The lounge at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai is on the 21st floor of the hotel.
Access is restricted to Platinum Elite members or persons who have chosen a room with access.
This lounge is charming and even offers numerous board games!
This lounge offers non-alcoholic beverages throughout the day, as well as snacks.
In the morning and the evening, a buffet is served. This is the evening buffet:
On the second day, we will have our breakfast in the lounge. The lounge also offers a buffet, which is slightly more limited than the BHAR restaurant. Here is a photo gallery of the dishes on offer:
The Renaissance Downtown Hotel swimming pool, Dubai
The Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai has a very nice infinity pool, half indoor, half outdoor, with a beautiful view of the river .
… and on the Burj Khalifa (the city is a “permanent construction site”)!
It’s a very pleasant place to tan, especially with the temperatures in December: 28-30 degrees!
Or even spend the end of the day with a beautiful sunset!
The training room at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai
In the immediate vicinity of the pool, there is a gym with brand new equipment.
Our general impression of the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai
So many positive points for this Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai: perfectly situated for exploring Dubai, it has top-of-the-range facilities and impeccable service. We highly recommend it, especially at this point rate level!
- Annual fee
- $120
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$600Total$600$100 deferred bonus, excluded from the first-year estimate and not counted in this total.Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
- $600
- Welcome offerAfter $3,000 in 3 months
- Up to 70,000 points
Apply Now
on American Express's website
Apply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).
Go further with Marriott Bonvoy
To maximize your stays and points earning, check our complete Marriott Bonvoy program guide and our best Marriott Bonvoy credit cards ranking. For personal use, see the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card. For business expenses, the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card earns points on every business purchase. And if a points purchase promotion is running, take advantage via our Marriott Bonvoy points purchase guide.